Summary
- Star Wars Outlaws will feature three major crime syndicates - the Hutts, the Pykes, and the Ashiga - as part of its narrative, offering players the opportunity to navigate the criminal underworld.
- The game takes place during the Galactic Civil War between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, with crime syndicates thriving due to the Empire's focus on the rebellion. However, the Crimson Dawn and Black Sun syndicates are not mentioned, despite their significant influence during this time.
- Working with or against these syndicates may force players to make difficult moral choices, contributing to the game's emphasis on relationship-building and dialogue options. It is surprising that Kay, the protagonist, does not come across these syndicates considering the game's scope and story.
The Star Wars Outlaws SDCC revealed three major crime syndicates that will play a part in the game's narrative. Ubisoft's open-world title is set to explore the depths of the criminal underworld as its new protagonist Kay Vess navigates deals and builds relationships with some of the Outer Rim's most dangerous crime lords while looking for a way out.
Star Wars Outlaws takes place during the Galactic Civil War, specifically between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and LucasFilm’s Matt Martin explained that various crime syndicates have been able to thrive due to the Empire's focus on the rising rebellion at this time. Canonically, there are five major crime syndicates active at this time, and the San Diego Comic-Con confirmed two of them, the Hutts and the Pykes, would be returning in Star Wars Outlaws, alongside a completely new clan, the Ashiga.
Kay Might Not Work With Crimson Dawn Or Black Sun In Star Wars Outlaws
Previous gameplay footage saw Kay stealing an artifact for the Pyke crime syndicate, and the SDCC revealed that she will also be able to take on missions directly from Jabba the Hutt, however, the other three major syndicates weren't mentioned at all. The Crimson Dawn, Black Sun, and Crymorah syndicates - the latter of which has never appeared on-screen or in a video game before - were all heavily influential during this time, and all covered different elements of crime from smuggling to slave trading.
Such criminal activities could lead to players being forced to make some difficult moral choices if working alongside them, which would play directly into the kind of relationship-building (or destroying) the developers have promised through the game's wealth of dialogue options. Whether working with or against these other syndicates, it is surprising that Kay would not come across them at all at some point in her journey considering the game's scale and the kind of story it's telling.
The Crimson Dawn's Syndicate War Might Not Play A Part In Star Wars Outlaws
At this point in the Star Wars timeline, Crimson Dawn was initiating the Syndicate War with several agents across the galaxy causing rifts between the various criminal factions. This began with the auction and transportation of Han Solo's Carbonite, which was shown early on in Star Wars Outlaws' reveal trailer as it was being moved to Jabba's Palace, where it resided at the beginning of Return of the Jedi. Crimson Dawn stole Solo in the War of the Bounty Hunters as bait for a trap before Boba Fett reacquired him, and Star Wars Outlaws would be missing out on a major moment in the underworld if it weren't to have Kay involved or witnessing it in some capacity given her ties to the Hutts.
It's entirely possible that these other factions might be featured on the outskirts of Kay Vess' story, and that Star Wars Outlaws' main campaign has simply opted to focus on a smaller group of factions for the sake of pacing. There is always the possibility of future story DLC that handles them in a greater capacity, but considering Ubisoft has promised such a huge open galaxy to explore, and a new kind of game that explores the criminal underworld, it would be missing an obvious trick not to include some of the syndicates that have been underrepresented outside comics and novels.
